During the season, four new record ascents were set by the riders on the following climbs: Ca uberg, Mur de Huy, Risoul and Port de Bales.
After being hold by another rider for a period of two years, the title of the best climber in the world comes back on the shoulders of the Spanish champion, Alberto Contador. Even if he crashed out of the Tour de France while supposedly, being in his best form ever, he still managed to return and reach at the end of the second week of La Vuelta a Espana, the same climbing level as in his dominating years.
The Tour de France winner, Vincenzo Nibali showed during the July race, his best ever climbing peformances, confirming the upgrade made in the Astana colours. It remains to be seen if he has any room of improvement left in the climbing department for 2015...
While Nairo Quintana, Chris Froome and the eternal Alejandro Valverde didn't manage for different reasons, to surpass their best versions in the 2014 season , there were two young champions who made it on the scene of the best climbers in the world. The first, Fabio Aru proved that he has the endurance needed to win the biggest races in the world, unleashing a tremendous number of watts on the climbs of the third week both in Il Giro (Monte Grappa) and La Vuelta (Monte Castrove). The second, Rafal Majka, constant but not brilliant during the Giro d'Italia, managed to conquer in big style both the Alps and the Pyrenees during Le Tour. His breakaway triumphs could be placed in the same category along with the superb mountain raids of Richard Virenque, Michael Rasmussen or Emanuele Sella.
The climbing level of the whole season can be considered superior to the level of the last two or three years. Overall, the performances seen before the 2007 season were not reached during 2014 though.

Important mention:
This "Top 100" contains only the ascents after the year 2000, when the Vuelta organizers choosed a new finish line, placed on another local road. The absolute record of speed on Lagos de Covadonga is owned by Pavel Tonkov, in 1997.

Thursday, 4 September 2014

The already mythical ascent by then, the climb to Lagos de Covadonga made its appearance in the stage 15 of this edition of La Vuelta a Espana. The difficulties on the road from Oviedo, as always weren't important with only Mirador del Fito as the only other climb on the 160 kilometers route. The overall GC was lead, as it was the norm in the 90's, by a Swiss, the defending champion, Alex Zulle. A fierce battle was on the horizon for the other two podium places though, between Festina's Laurent Dufaux and Kelme's climbing goat, Fernando Escartin.
After passing Hospederia del Peregrino, on the first ramp, Kelme starts to play their beautiful tactics. Juan Carlos Dominguez attacks from the gun. Helped by the awful weather, he soon disappears in the fog. When the gap reaches 30 seconds, Fernando Escartin launches a blistering attack from behind. On the fresh asphalt road, dancing in the rain, the Kelme leader catches quickly his domestique sent up front to help him. The ONCE team doesn't allow to the duo an advantage bigger than half a minute. On the first meters of the most difficult part of the climb, La Huesera, Escartin goes on his own. In the same time, Laurent Dufaux is dropped, asphyxiated by Jalabert's insane rhythm. This all uphill first part of the climb is raced at an amazing speed, Fernando averaging around 6.8 w/kg for 21 minutes. Obviously not enough because he slightly manages to gain fifteen seconds on a super select group of four: Jose Maria Jimenez, Laurent Jalabert, Alex Zulle and Pavel Tonkov. In the last three kilometers, the Russian leaves the ONCE riders and goes for the victory, passing like a motorbike poor Escartin. It was the second stage win in three days for Tonkov who will abandon a day later in order to meet his newborn son.
With this performance on such a mythical mountain, Pavel Tonkov's place in the climbers hall of fame of the cycling's modern age is guaranteed. It's the fastest ever recorded ascent on Lagos de Covadonga and it might take some time to see this record beaten...

After two weeks of racing, there was nothing decided in this edition of the Tour : between the first and the fifth in overall, there is a gap of only two minutes. In a race in which the weather caused route changes and with a total of only three mountain-top finishes, waiting was not an option. Everyone's cards will be put on the table in this stage: Agen-Hautacam, 199 km in length. Not a single climb before the final one. This saves the peloton's energy for the big showdown.
As expected, the first kilometers are ridden at a brutal speed, in one long line. Alex Zulle attacks very early in Arbouix but he's brought back after just a few minutes. Indurain, already hurt at the base of Hautacam (his heart already at more than 190 bpm) goes to the front and tries to impose his rhytm. The Telekom team had other plans though and right away, the Kaiser Ullrich sets a savage pace on the front. It's in these moments that Le Tour lives exclusive historical moments: the yellow jersey, Riis lets himself slip from the front to the back of the group, in the big ring. And then he comes at twice the speed and attacks! A little descent ruins his plans for the moment and allows the others to come back. After slowing down and seeming to look everyone in the eyes, he puts other blistering attacks. Leblanc, Dufaux and Virenque are the last to give up, they can't follow his wheel. Riding on insane gears, Bjarne, a mask of pain, slowly increases the gap to the chasers. In the last kilometer, defying his rivals and the laws of physics, he climbs in the big ring to the top. The winner of the Tour is known. Bjarne's ascent on Hautacam remains one of the fastest ever recorded in cycling's history and one of the most brutal performances in professional sports.

Important mention:
Until 1993, the route to the finish was different in the last 300 meters( Rue du Port Vieux instead of Route du Pla d'Adet) resulting in an extra 100 meters for the ascents before 1993. The very close time in which these different distances were ridden allows though a direct comparison between before 1993 ascent times and those after, 1993 included.

Being the last mountain-top finish of the race, the 230 kilometers stage from Andorre to Saint-Lary-Soulan was expected to be one finale chance for an important reshuffle of the general classification. While as usual, the top spot of the podium was already secured by the Spanish legend, Miguel Indurain, the fight for the other two honourable places promised to be spectacular.
Collado del Canto, Puerto de la Bonaigua, the Portillon and the Peyresourde were the climbs serving as legs-breaking appetizers. The Col de Peyresoude saw lot of action and was raced at a quite aggresive rhytm. The selection was made and at the foot of Pla d'Adet, there weren't more than thirty riders in the front group. Having full confidence in their leader Tony Rominger, the Spanish Clas-Cajastur team hits the climb at an unseen before, scary speed. Escartin, Mauleon and Jon Unzaga as the last rocket, succesfully managed to put Tony in a great position to attack. The brutal , big ring acceleration comes as expected and only the yellow jersey, Indurain can follow. The rhytm, described by the Spanish TV commentators as "infernal, frenético", asphyxiates on the spot the colombian Mejia, the second in the Tour classification. On the other hand, the biggest surprise of that edition of the Tour, the Polish Zenon Jaskula succeeds to catch the two leaders. Without asking for a single relay, Rominger pushes his huge gears up to the top of the climb. Only in the last 200 meters he is overtaken by Jaskula, who beats him to the line.
At the time, the ascent of Pla d'Adet was the greatest performance recorded on a climb in a road stage of Le Tour de France. The performance is even more impressive, keeping in mind that it came in the third week of the Tour, at the end of a difficult mountain stage and after seven hours in the saddle. While some riders already showed great exhibitions of endurance since the year 1990, on Pla d'Adet it becomes obvious that a very large part of the peloton found an extra gear. The convicts of the road start the age of flying up the climbs...